anlomedadFrom the goddess of #OceanHeatContent #OHC comes the annual update for 2023. 🏆 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00376-024-3378-5
In previous updates, the team always surprised (me) with great visualisations #scicomm , this year is no exception, although my favorite 3-dimensional "wheel" diagram of the 4 ocean basins is replaced by multiple line charts of more basins surrounding a global map. And also, each basin got its individual, 10-line short analysis. But I miss the wheeldiagram anyway.
2023's OHC down to 2000m depth was colder than 2022 in many basins. Yup, you read that right: colder than 2022.
It opens the question how that could occur while all of us where watching #ClimateReanalyzer daily #SST shocking updates , particularly in the North #Atlantic.
Why didn't high surface temperatures propagate properly into the lower layers?
Maybe #LiJingCheng is a man and hence The God of OHC. But until proven otherwise, I'll use the female form to sneak in attention to the gender disparity in #climatescience
New Record Ocean Temperatures and Related Climate Indicators in 2023 - Advances in Atmospheric Sciences
The global physical and biogeochemical environment has been substantially altered in response to increased atmospheric greenhouse gases from human activities. In 2023, the sea surface temperature (SST) and upper 2000 m ocean heat content (OHC) reached record highs. The 0–2000 m OHC in 2023 exceeded that of 2022 by 15 ± 10 ZJ (1 Zetta Joules = 1021 Joules) (updated IAP/CAS data); 9 ± 5 ZJ (NCEI/NOAA data). The Tropical Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and southern oceans recorded their highest OHC observed since the 1950s. Associated with the onset of a strong El Niño, the global SST reached its record high in 2023 with an annual mean of ∼0.23°C higher than 2022 and an astounding > 0.3°C above 2022 values for the second half of 2023. The density stratification and spatial temperature inhomogeneity indexes reached their highest values in 2023.